It’s the ultimate test of precision, pressure and perseverance. In National Geographic’s new six-part series TOP GUNS: THE NEXT GENERATION, cameras follow a class of Navy and Marine Corps student pilots as they enter the final—and most unforgiving—phase of elite strike fighter training. It’s six months of high-stakes aerial training, brutal physical demands, and emotional reckoning, where only the top performers earn the chance to fly the most coveted aircrafts. The series goes beyond the cockpit, following ambitious young Navy and Marine students both in the air and off-base, capturing candid moments with family and friends and revealing the personal stakes, sacrifices and motivations that brought them here. Filmed with unprecedented access, it immerses audiences in a world of intense pressure and soaring expectations, where dreams of earning wings of gold collide with the harsh reality of the grueling training. From bombing drills to close-range dogfights and nail-biting carrier approaches, each episode captures the intense demands of a program that challenges their abilities, endurance and resolve at every turn.
